We have been planning a new outdoor area in our backyard for years now. Literally years. I can't believe it's taken us this long to actually start getting it done. Well, to be fair, we did start some time ago. Tim wanted to build a new retaining wall to replace an ugly old pine one and he did a great job. It just took him over a year and a half to complete! I'm not complaining (well, maybe a little bit) but it looks great and was finally completed a few weeks ago.
Now the next step is to repave part of the back area. We have an old concrete block which needs to be dug up and because our house in on a slope Tim decided he didn't want to tackle the project of laying pavers because we need to make sure the drainage angles are all correct so that water doesn't come into the house during a down pour, so we decided to get professionals in to do it. That in itself was another drama that took us months. We called so many tradespeople and they either never returned phone calls or said they would come over and give us a quote, only to do a no show and not even contact us. What is wrong with people? It was truly frustrating.
Eventually we found a guy who gave us a reasonable quote and we were starting to get excited. This was finally happening. He was coming over on thursday to get started. Because they were going to be jack hammering most of the day we decided to take Ella to mum's place instead of her coming here to look after her. Tim got up early to take her there on his way to work and would pick her up on his way home. This meant that I was alone on thursday morning for the first time in a long time.
After they left I sat in the kitchen eating my breakfast and it was so quiet. It was a strange feeling. Normally I am scrambling to clean up and get lunch made for Tim and get Ella breakfast etc, but that morning, it was just me. After a leisurely breakfast I did a big clean up. It was so much easier to do without having a toddler to rip everything apart the minute I put things away. I washed up, I vacuumed, I moved the couch to make more room in our dining area (where we have now put our computer since our computer room will soon be new baby's room), I Scotch Guarded the new fabric I put on the chairs, steam mopped the floor and more. As sad as it sounds, it was actually really nice to accomplish all this stuff uninterrupted. Maybe it's my nesting instinct starting to kick in but I got a lot of stuff done that morning before going to work and it was satisfying to see a clean house for the first time in a long time.
I finished work at 3pm and Tim wasn't going to be home with Ella until at least 6.30pm so again, I found myself with time on my hands. I decided to go to the shops and finally start getting things for the new baby's bedroom. New curtains and curtain rods, a cozy new blanket, some cushions and other bits and pieces. I have been really slack in getting anything new for this baby. I only have 12 weeks to go and I know those weeks will fly so I guess I'm starting to get to that stage where I am thinking I really need to get my butt into gear and get things done.
It was nice to walk around the shops without feeling rushed. I even stopped in at Max Brenner and treated myself to a nice hot chocolate. While I sipped I wondered what I used to do with all the time I had on my hands before I had a baby. Those few hours of peace and quiet were lovely but when I saw Ella's smile and the way she bopped up and down with excitement when she saw me when she finally came home, I have to say that that is what made my day.
Unfortunately it started to pour with rain early on thursday morning which meant that the paving contractor couldn't actually come and start our job. Another hold up - but you can't help the weather I suppose. Hopefully that project will start early next week and be finished by the end of the week, although my dad just told me that it's supposed to be raining on and off for the next couple of weeks. I am planning a small birthday party at our house for mum's 70th in a couple of weeks so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be all finished by then. Not sure what I'll do if it's not...I have some grand plans which rely on a nice new paved area and lots of sunshine. Here's hoping.
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